


From Aria to Duet

by tsunamijenn



Series: Just another Reverse AU [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Comment Fic, How the Stammi vicino duet program came to be, M/M, Yeah not much else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 08:00:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12860256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsunamijenn/pseuds/tsunamijenn
Summary: A quick summary of how the Stammi vicino duet exhibition routine came to be.Another one-shot stemming from my main Reverse AU story, Victor!!! on Ice. Having a little more detail about the duet was requested in a comment, and I wanted to post something with Yuuri for his birthday, and since I fail at drawing proportional stick figures, this is my contribution to the fandom. Hope you enjoy!





	From Aria to Duet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [And___Peggy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/And___Peggy/gifts).



> It's November 29th! You know what that means?!
> 
> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST BOI KATSUKI YUURI!!  
> (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ  
> °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°  
> ☆ ～('▽^人)  
> ❤⌒ヽ(*'､^*)chu
> 
> In other news, this was written kinda quick (gotta get it done for the birthday boy), and I have no beta, and it's like 1 in the morning, so please forgive any mistakes you might read.

"Victor, have you given any thought to what you want your exhibition piece to be?"

 

"You think I need one?"

 

"Victor, you could have beaten some of the Senior level skaters with some of your later Junior routines, just amped up a little. Yes, I think you should have one ready."

 

"Oh, okay. Well...uh...I don't know, honestly. All my efforts until recently had been focused on keeping you as my coach. I hadn't thought much past that."

 

"Well, you do still have a little bit of time to think about it. We still need to iron out all the small details for both your short and free, so we'll make that the priority for now. But keep considering ideas in your spare time, okay?"

 

"Yes coach!"

 

* * * * *

 

Victor was busy searching through all the old videos of Yuuri skating, hoping to find inspiration, when he came across Yuuri's final skate.

 

_{video}_

_Katsuki Yuuri, Sochi GPF Free Skate: 'Aria: Stammi vicino, non te ne andare'_

_645,962 Views_

_\----------------------------------------------_

_It's KatsuDAMN!_

_Published on Dec 12, 201X_

_\----------------------------------------------_

_For those of you that weren't able to watch live the final performance of Katsuki Yuuri's decorated career as a figure skater, here's the HD version for your viewing enjoyment. Be sure to have those tissues ready! You're gonna need it for this one!_

 

 _Well, they were right about the tissues. This program was so different from what he usually did. Why did he do it?_ Victor sat his computer off to the side and went in search of his coach. He eventually found Yuuri sitting on his bed, eyes closed with his headphones in, doing small movements as if going over a routine without the full movements. Victor sat and watched for a few seconds before walking in and sitting on the floor near Yuuri's legs. He tapped Yuuri's knee to get his attention.

 

"Oh hey Victor, what are you doing in here?"

 

"I just wanted to know...what were you thinking about when you skated to 'Stammi vicino'? It seemed like such a sad song."

 

 _Oh dear, this isn't going to be a simple conversation._ Yuuri maneuvered Victor so that he was sitting against the bed and between Yuuri's legs. Yuuri reached over and grabbed a hairbrush, and began to brush Victor's hair.

 

"Honestly, it is a sad song. It's a song of longing. I hadn't intended for it to be so emotional, but it just happened. Do you know what the singer is saying?"

 

"No, I'm not very good with Italian."

 

Well, the first two lines roughly translate to 'I hear a voice weeping in the distance. Have you maybe been abandoned as well?'. So yeah, not the most upbeat song ever written. I hadn't announced it yet, but it was the end of my competitive career, so I felt like I was walking through darkness, not knowing what would await me when I got to the other side. I was skating for the loss of a loved one, even though I had never actually been in a relationship. I dedicated so much of my time to my career that I never neglected my love and personal life, never really giving them an opportunity to flourish. And I was skating for myself. As a culmination of those two previous statements, I felt so empty and lost in the world. I still had my pride and support from my country, but those were about the only two positives keeping me afloat."

 

Victor felt his eyes start to water listening to Yuuri speak about how empty his life had been. _You had left everything behind to make it to the top, but when you got there, there was no one there to greet you. How could someone as wonderful as Yuuri have no one there for him?_

 

"In your skate, you seem like you were reaching for someone, begging for anyone to take your hand and walk with you."

 

Yuuri looked down at the floor, a moment of overwhelming sadness flashing across his face.

 

"In a way, I was. Someone to complete my song."

 

Victor watched as a range of emotions flitted across Yuuri's face. Seeing this side of Yuuri, one that was too tired to restrain the negative feelings, gave Victor the answer he needed.

 

"Yuuri...I know I can't make up for all the things you've gone through over the years, but I would like to skate Stammi vicino as my exhibition. If you'd be ok with it. And since you always ask, here's my reasoning. One is superficial. I want to skate your program as a tribute to you, for all you've done for me, and for all you've done for the skating world. The other is a little deeper. I want to be there for you, in whatever way I can. You've been alone for so long. Let me change that. Let me be the other half of your routine, the one to complete your song."

 

Victor suddenly paused and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

 

"Obviously, it won't actually be the other half, since I'll be skating the same thing. But I've always wanted to skate on the same ice as you...now that you're retired, this will be as close as I can get."

 

After a moment of silence, Victor looked up at Yuuri and was stunned to see his eyes watering, a lone tear falling down Yuuri's face. Yuuri instantly swiped at it.

 

"Thank you Victor. That's...probably one of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me. I would be more than pleased to teach you my routine."

 

* * * * *

 

Weeks passed and Victor slowly picked up the new choreography. At the Rostelecom Cup, Victor performed it for the first time, albeit with some downgraded components. As they didn't have time to have a more intricate and detailed costume made, Victor just wore plain black pants with a white long-sleeved shirt and black vest. The vest had a spot just above his heart that was styled to look like a hole had been opened in his chest. He also wore a red glove on his left hand to symbolize his heart so it appeared he was holding out his heart every time the singer called out for their unknown lover.

 

Between Rostelecom and the Cup of China, Yuuri worked with Victor even more so that Victor could perform the program with the same components Yuuri had used in the last Grand Prix Final. The week before China, Victor was finally able to land all the jumps and hold all the spins.

 

After China, they continued to practice, but as it was just his exhibition piece, they decided to have some fun with it. Fueled by the feelings from their first kiss, they started by skating the entire program side-by-side. After a while, Victor started to add his own little twists to the routine, and Yuuri eventually started moving with Victor. After a couple days, the side-by-side had unintentionally turned into a pairs routine. And just for the fun of it, they decided to polish up the movements.

 

Looking back, Yuuri realized just how much his relationship with Victor had changed, just like the Stammi vicino routine had changed. Many of the movements were still fundamentally the same, but with Victor on the ice with him, when Yuuri extended his arms, a silent call for his other half, there was someone to reach back.

 

On Yuuri's birthday, Yuuri, and then Victor once Yuuri's inhibitions about underage drinking were drowned in liquor, celebrated a new year of life with a whole new purpose. In their drunken state, they both came to the conclusion that a new version of Stammi vicino, a duet to match their new impromptu routine, needed to be recorded. Yuuri quickly shot off an email before falling back onto his bed. But in typical Drunk Yuuri fashion, the previous nights events were completely forgotten about until Yuuri received an email with a new sound file attached.

 

"Yuuri, can we pleeeeease try to work the routine together with the new song?"

 

"God, why did I even ask for a new song. It's not like it will ever actually be used. Ugh, this is mortifying. I'm sure they'd love the publicity for the new song, but I can't think of a time when the performance would be feasible."

 

"Well then how about this. After the Grand Prix Final, we skate our new routine with the new song and just post it to YouTube and see how that goes. That way we don't waste a perfectly beautiful song, but there's no pressure. We just skate for ourselves."

 

"I suppose. But only if you promise to keep up the diligent work on your short and free skate. We don't have much more time before the final, and I don't want there to be a sliver of doubt in your mind of your ability to perform your programs flawlessly."

 

* * * * *

 

After their confessions the night before the free skate and his gold medal win at the Grand Prix Final, Victor was riding an adrenalin high. Once they had done enough interviews to satisfy the reporters and taken enough photos to calm his fans, Victor and Yuuri slowly walked back to their hotel room. Victor grabbed Yuuri's hand, and

 

"Hey, Yuuri? I know it was never intended for an actual performance, but I may or may not have brought your old outfit along, and I may or may not have had a similar one made for me, so...can I use it for my exhibition skate?"

 

Yuuri shook his head in mock disbelief.

 

"Will you ever not do something surprising and unexpected?"

 

"Nope!"

 

"Okay, okay. I'll talk to some people about getting us some private practice time. I'm assuming you don't want anyone to see beforehand?"

 

"Nope!"

 

"How are you such a perpetual ball of energy?"

 

"I don't know, but I'm your ball of energy!"

 

"You're weird...but I love you."

 

"I love you too Yuuri~!"

 

Once they entered their room, Victor paused and turned back to Yuuri.

 

"Thank you so much for doing this with me. I know I've mentioned it before, but skating on the same ice as you has always been a dream of mine. But to be able to not only be on the same ice, but to do it at the same time as you, with you...that means more to me than you could ever imagine. So thank you again. Throughout all our time together, you've managed to make all my dreams come true."

 

* * * * *

 

Victor stood the in the middle of the rink in silence. He heard the gasps of the audience as they took in his new outfit and smiled. He had gone to Yuuri's old costume designer and requested an exact replica, with the exception of the color. To compliment Yuuri's blue top, Victor had his made in a gorgeous purple.

 

Once the music started, he began the routine, a carbon copy beginning of the original. But unlike the original, he didn't channel any sadness or longing like he had done in his qualifiers. _I might be alone on the ice right now, but just like in my life, I have to be patient and wait for Yuuri to join me._

 

When Yuuri finally joined him on the ice to the swell of the orchestra, the crowd cheered and Victor smiled. As Yuuri started the first lift, Victor found his smile growing ever bigger. As he felt his heart growing, Victor decided to reach up and caress Yuuri's while they spun. When they came back face-to-face, Victor noticed Yuuri grinning at Victor's spontaneous decision. One the next lift, Victor felt his heart soar.   _I will do whatever it takes to stay in his arms. I love you Yuuri. Stay close to me and hold me forever._

 

As the song neared the end, Victor found himself bursting with joy. _There's a place you just can't reach unless you have a dream too large to bear alone. We call everything on the ice 'love'._

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I realize that in the show, Victor's accent colors for his outfit are gold, and then when they perform the duet, they are silver, ergo color change, which is not something I mention in this little ficlet. But the tailor didn't have enough spare time for Victor to sneak two new outfits, so he just used the original color scheme so that he would match Yuuri, because that's what's really important in life ❤


End file.
